Clean
by OlafTheSecond
Summary: TK and Kari get romantically involved. They have so much history with each other. How could they not? They can never be come clean with each other, but neither can they be clean of each other. I am known to not finish things. So Chapter 1 will serve as the ending if I don't. It'll have snippets of multiple points in their lives, and may not be in chronological order.
1. Chapter 1: Beginning, Middle, and End

The sky was hissing, inflicting its rain onto Tokyo below. TK walked along lost in thought, giving the rain no mind.

"TK!"

His heart skipped a beat, and the pen he had been mindlessly playing with dropped to the sidewalk. He didn't need to turn to know whose voice that was.

Kari was breathing hard. She had been searching for TK relentlessly for the past hour. She had finally found him and was determined not to let him get away again, even through this weather. Kari never stopped her run towards TK, who, when he turned, took off to meet her. The two met halfway between them and stood just a foot apart.

TK's heart went into double time, more than making up for his earlier pause, and matching Kari's. His green eyes met her browns, and in that look, everything that needed to be said was said. A wobbly smile exploded onto his face as he clasped her hands between his. She saw his smile, felt his warm hands protecting hers, and knew it would all be ok. In a flash, TK had closed the gap between them, and placed his lips onto hers. TK poured his soul into his lips, easily overfilling it, and Kari was glad to have his love wash over her. In return, her radiance glowed brighter than ever before, and enveloped the lovers into their own world with fireworks exploding in slow motion.

When their kiss finally broke, they both were panting lightly. Blush had crept onto both their faces. TK broke the silence with a gentlemanly offer, "C'mon. Let's get out of this rain. I'll walk you home."Still beaming, Kari simply smiled and nodded.


	2. Chapter 2: Human Adventure 02

"You're going to be late to school TK. Hurry up and finish your breakfast." Nancy Takashi called out from the other room.

TK Takashi was doing just that in the kitchen. Clad in green shorts, and yellow and green shirt, he sat by the counter, pushing his utensil around but not eating. _New school, new apartment, but same old lumpy oatmeal. _He forced the lumpy mess down, let out a small sigh, and put the bowl in the sink. TK walked into the living room, picking up his black backpack and treasured white hat. As he passed by his mothers study, he put on a smile and said "I'm done mom. I'm leaving."

She apologetically responded, "Sorry I can't drive you to school on your first day, but I have to write this article before the deadline. It's all about the historical significance of toilet paper. Hmm…" As TK walked past, he could hear her writing aloud, "-progress from this agricultural revolution was not only supported, but made possible with the advent of toilet paper."

"It's ok, I'll walk. See you later." He knew his mom, being a divorced single mother, had to work hard to support him, so he shrugged it off and thought of the walk as exercise. TK walked out of the new apartment they had just moved into not a week ago. He locked the door and carefully slid the keys into his pocket. He paused for a moment and mused on the fact that the lock of the door still made unfamiliar sounds. There he stood, a small boy, in a huge apartment complex, in an even more enormous city. He walked up to and peered over the balcony onto the busy streets 8 floors below, before turning towards the elevator. During the wait, the sounds of the city slowly drifted to the background, with the elevator's arrival and their occupants occupying the forefront of attention.

There were 2 kids approximately the same age as TK. _Might as well start it off now. _"How's it going", TK asked.

One of the kids was a girl, dressed head to toe in pink. The pink was well complimented by her purple hair and blue bandana, making her thin frame glasses the last thing TK noticed. "Fine, thank you." She replied.

"Great, my name's TK and my mom and I just moved into this building. I'm in 7th grade, class A, nice to meet you."

"Oh hi, my name is Yolei. Would you like to walk to school with us? It takes exactly 12.3 minutes and that's if there's no wind. It'll be fun. And Oh, this is Cody." She glanced at the boy beside her. He was in a light purple sweater and about a foot shorter than Yolei.

He smiled and offered "Welcome to the building TK. Come on, we don't want to be late on our first day. "

"Let's do it."

The walk was about 2 miles, and on the way, Yolei and Cody had tried to get to know their new neighbor better.

"My mom writes for museums, newspapers, speeches. It's kind of a freelance job." TK explained.

"Oh, well my parents own a convenience store and I occasionally work there and help out." Yolei replied. "Oh I know!, you should totally come by after, and I can get you the super awesome friends and family discount on day old bread!"

TK was puzzled, but kept his face straight and cautiously agreed. "That sounds… good. You'll have to show me sometime."

Cody was much quieter than Yolei. But he had still offered friendship. "I live with my mother and grandfather on the south side of town. We have a kendo studio, and my grandfather is the master."

The trio went on exchanging tidbits about themselves for the 30 minute walk. They finally got to Odaiba Junior High. It had a large gated entrance, which was currently open, and students were slowly trickling in. It had solid walls mixed with iron gates as its perimeter, and a few large buildings lining the main path.

"Well, Cody and I are in 6-D to start, but I'm sure we'll see you later." Said Yolei. She had stopped and was pointing towards a white building to her left. "5-A is going to be the main building down the path." Now Yolei was pointed out the building directly at the end of the main entrance.

"It was nice to meet you." Cody bowed.

"We'll catch up later." TK smiled.

The pair walked away from TK, and began their own conversation.

"Hey Yolei, can you come over after school and fix my computer again?"

"Only if your mom makes those brownies I love."

"I'll send an email and ask her if she'll make a batch right away. "

"It's a deal, perfecto!"

TK began walking towards the building Yolei had pointed out when a glare caught his eye. He turned to the right to see a field where a group of kids were playing soccer.

_Tai? _he thought. _I'm seeing things._

"Here you go Davis!" A soccer ball shot over Davis' head and headed towards TK. He caught it, and the purple haired soccer player ran up to hm.

"Thanks, great catch." A moment of silence passes, and they look at each other as if trying to figure the other out.

"You look familiar. " TK said, returning the ball. "Must be the goggles."

"Hey Davis, you're holding up the game." A voice shouted from the group. Davis nodded towards TK and kicked the ball towards the group and rejoined the game.

_What am I thinking? That can't be Tai. He's a much better soccer player than that kid._

The bell rang and students got settled in class 5-A. Davis made his way towards a girl with brown hair and pink and white ensemble. "Alright, what luck! You're in my class again Kari!" he exclaimed.

Kari turned and gave a little smile. "I wouldn't call that luck." _There are only two classes worth of students in this school._

"Hey the weirdest thing just happened; this new kid said I reminded him of someone. Probably thinks I'm a movie star."

Kari was about to respond when the door opened and a teacher walked in. "Settle down everybody. I know you're all excited to be here." The class did settle down and got into their seats.

"I'm Mr. Hamasaki, I'll be your teacher, and I'd like you all to welcome a new student." The door opened again, and in steps TK.

Davis who was already looking bored, perked up. _Whoa, it's that kid._

"It's nice to meet you. I'm TK." He greeted.

Mr. Hamasaki looked around for an open desk. "Please take a seat next to the girl with the… camera around her neck."

TK scanned the room. _What kind of description was that? It's not that obvious who has a camera around their neck. A color cue would have been bet- _His thoughts stopped as he saw the face of the girl with the camera around her neck, Kari Kamiya.


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Ocean Redux

Catherine Deneuve was walking on the beach boardwalk when she hit her foot on something and almost stumbled face first into a pole. Luckily, she regained her balance, and after recovering, she turned around to see what could have caused this misfortune. She found a camera on the floor, with its lens shattered and the back open. Looking at the brand, she knew it was quite pricey. So, she decided to develop the film to hopefully find a clue as to who it belonged to. However, when she did, she found something quite unexpected.

Kari Kamiya was hiding under her blankets softly crying. Her phone rang, and she jumped to answer it. "TK?" she hoped.

"Not quite. Hello. My name is Catherine Deneuve, and I found your camera."

"My camera…" Kari looked down. She had even forgotten about the camera.

"Yes, I hope you don't mind. I found it on the beach yesterday, and when I saw it was a LZ8001, I knew I had to try to get it back to its original owner.

Kari was still quiet. "Yes. Th-Thank you."

"No, it's me that should be thanking you. Let me tell you something, that photo you took of the ocean, it's amazing. It's captured something completely different, and it's going to take the world by storm."

Kari remained silent. _I didn't take any photo of the ocean._

Catherine continued, "Listen, I work for Q International magazine. You may have heard of it. It's the industry leader in following, or some say, creating the latest trends in fashion, art, pop culture, and technology. You may have seen our coverage on Kigurumi and Bagel heads when they just coming out. I would love to hear your story of how you got that shot and feature your picture as a cover and do a spread on few of your other photos. What do you say?"

Kari's head was spinning. Q International was . No matter how she felt, she wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. "Yes."

"Great, then I'll send a car for you in an hour."

Kari dragged herself into the shower and tried to make herself presentable. She put on a pink blazer and grabbed the portfolio of her works and awaited Catherine's car. She paced nervously until her phone rang.

"Miss Kamiya, we're ready for you."

"Thank you, I'll be right out."

She made her way out and down to the street, where a large limo had parked. The driver ran to open the door. "Miss Kamiya." The ride was in solitude and gave Kari a chance to think about this mysterious photo Catherine had mentioned. She still could not remember taking a photo of the ocean. She arrived at Q International headquarters in about 20 minutes. She marveled at the structure. It resembled an pyramidal hourglass structure. The driver took escorted her into the waiting room, where she had a few more minutes alone with her thoughts. This time, they drifted towards TK, and what happened on the beach.

She was interrupted by a greeting. "Kari." Catherine emerged from the hallway of offices of Q International. "Hello, it's Catherine, how are you?"

"Catherine, hello." Kari stood a little dumbfounded as the person who stood in front of her was clearly not Japanese, but had spoken with as if they had a native tongue. She had golden locks, blue eyes and pale white skin, yet somehow managed to look exceedingly cute, even to Kari. Thinking back, her last name, Deneuve should have given it away the nationality, but she had been quite distracted.

Catherine laughed. "The Japanese?"

Kari nodded.

"You can blame my boss for that. He expects nothing but perfection. And what you've got, that is perfection. Come on. We're going to see him now."

Catherine led Kari down the hallway she appeared from. Twisting left and right, they made their way into the deepest offices, past several security check points with what looked like very capable bodyguards. Finally, they passed a set of double doors into a conference room, where the pair met a young man with dark spiked blue hair, yellow goggles with a purple tint, a blue cape with decorative yellow shoulder pads, and a whip in his hand.

"Kari, let me introduce you to Ken Ichijouji, executive director of Q." Catherine presented.

While Kari should have been shocked by this executive's appearance, her gaze immediately went to a blown up picture of the beach on the wall. It had utterly captured her. Kari frowned as she took the sight of it in. It was devoid of color, somehow making the black and whites look wrong. It felt even emptier than it looked. It wasn't just light that was missing; it was lacking hope. Kari shuddered and turned to face the executive director.


	4. Chapter 4: The First Day

After recovering from the shock, TK made his way over to the right side of the room. He sat down in the empty desk and turned to face his old companion.

"Hi."

He flashed Kari what she called his awkward signature smile. It was an uneven nervous looking smile that made her laugh, out loud. Kari covered her mouth and looked around. Everyone was watching. "Sorry." She said, beet faced.

Also watching was Davis. _I've never seen Kari laugh like that before. Who is this guy?_

The two friends refrained from any further outbursts during the class. Both had more attention than they were used to, and spent the rest of the morning being good students and paying attention, but they were both noticeably fidgety. The introduction to the classes and the rules and expectations aren't normally an interesting subject, but with a long ago friend resurfacing, they could think of nothing else. Finally, class broke for lunch. Kari hoped to talk to TK, but a bunch of students, including Davis and bunch of girls, had already bunched up around him, welcoming and bombarding him with questions. _He's probably going to be swamped today. I'll catch up with him later. _Kari grabbed her books and stood. Making her way to the door, she turned and caught his eyes following her. She gave him an understanding look, which he gave a slight nod to, before turning back to his group conversation.

Outside the class, she paused in the hall and gave a little sigh. _Can't be helped. _Kari found her way to her locker. Pulling a slip of paper from her bag, she turned the dial in the correct sequence to open it. She recited in her mind: _5-31-3, 5-31-3._ _Try and remember that. _She put in books for history, and math. She reached for another book, but stopped midway. Kari ruffled through her bag and dug out a small compact. She opened it and straightened her hair as best she could. _What am I doing? _She put the mirror away and grabbed the book. The locker was closed, and the dial was carefully returned to the 0 position. Kari walked away to her next class. Kari was very disappointed when class began and TK was nowhere in sight. _He must not have this class. _She thought back on Davis' earlier comment about luck. _That's not luck either. _

After fielding some common questions from the girls, and some slightly uncommon ones from Davis, TK managed to get away. He walked down unfamiliar halls, glancing into rooms with empty chairs, bulletin boards with the latest club meeting schedules, and out windows overlooking the school. But he didn't find who he was looking for. Instead someone found him.

"TK!"

He turned to the sound of the voice. He saw Cody waving at him from what looked like a computer lab. Yolei was next to him, but was quite focused on the screen. _Well, lunch is almost over anyways. I'll have to find Kari later. _"Hey Cody, Yolei, what's up?"

"Well, Yolei here is trying to set up her account. But, she's having trouble." Cody replied.

"I'M not having trouble." Yolei retorted. "This system is the problem. It's ancient, out-dated and buggy as a caterpillar. I don't see how ANYONE can work with this!"

"You'll have to forgive Yolei. She's really into computers and can't stand them not working."

"Oh, yeah. I seem to recall you asking her to fix yours this morning."

"She's never failed yet."

Cody's remark brought a smile to Yolei's face. She pushed away the keyboard and turned to TK. "I'll get to the bottom of this later. It's almost time for class, what do you have?"

"I've got science in B221."

"Oh, we have that too. Let's go!"

The trio headed towards their next class. When they got there, TK scanned the room for signs of Kari. Disappointed, he found room next to his new friends and sat through the class. While he was much better in science than some of the other subjects, it didn't really appeal to him. Nothing did today, except the unfulfilled prospect of catching up with Kari. The day ended relatively uneventful, and he parted with Yolei and Cody.

"I'm going to look for a friend of mines."

"And we're going back to the computer lab and fixing that account!" Yolei declared.

"We are?" Cody worriedly asked.

"Yup."

"Well, good bye TK, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye guys."

Yolei was working furiously on the computer. She was extremely focused, but like her earlier conversation with TK, she could have her eyes fixed on the screen, but still talk and listen. At the moment, she was overhearing Cody's call home.

"No, Yolei's not coming over. We've got to stay after school for a computer issue. But since you made the brownies, I'll come home and pick them up first." A pause a muffled voice spoke. "Alright, thanks. Bye." Cody turned to Yolei, "I'll be back soon."

"Thanks Cody." Yolei liked to be well fed when she was working and she appreciated Cody for his generosity. She turned her complete focus onto the screen and began typing away.

Rapidly applying some more keystrokes and finishing with the enter key, she exclaimed "That ought to do it!"

She re-logged into her account and an email popped up. _Strange _she thought. _Let's see who sent it. _A click or two later, she found the answer was Tai Kamiya. _Tai Kamiya… Hey, there's a girl in the 7__th__ grade with the same last name. This email's probably hers. Hmm. I may have overdone it with the security preferences._

By luck, TK spotted Kari walking down the hallway. He ran up to catch up with her. Kari saw the motion in the corner of her eye and turned. A relieved smile grew on her face.

"Together again."

"Just like old times." The pair resumed the journey to Kari's locker. The first thing they did was swap class information, so they would know how to find one another. Soon after, TK descended back into round 2 of questioning for his day, but he felt much more open answering his friend.

"So TK, how does your mom like the new apartment?" Kari asked.

"She hasn't seen it yet, she's been on the computer the whole time." With a grin on his face, he mentioned "Actually, this morning she was writing about, and I quote, the historical significance of toilet paper."

Kari let out a laugh.

Davis was walking towards Kari when he noticed the new kid hanging around. _Oh no you don't. _He ran up to the pair. And with a non-disguised mildly hostile tone said, "Hey Buddy."

Kari's mood quickly shifted. "His name's not Buddy. It's TK." She defended.

"Alright TJ or JV or whatever it is, how do you know Kari?" Davis jumped into it.

TK shifted his glance to Kari who he immediately recognized as her smiling exasperation.

"Huh, how do I know her?" TK let out a little laugh. "Oh I get it, you're jealous of me."

"I'm not jealous of anybody." Davis's hotheaded reply.

Just then, a girl in pink ran up to the group. "Hey."

"Oh hi Yolei." TK greeted. But he wasn't the focus of Yolei's greeting.

"You're Kari Kamiya aren't you." Yolei asked.

"Yeah that's right, why do you ask?" Kari questioned.

"Are you related to Tai? He sent this email." She held up a printed version of the email.

Kari quickly read it. "My brother needs us!" She exclaimed.


	5. Chapter 5: You've Gotten Taller

"What's wrong with Tai?" Davis asked, running after Kari. Davis may often be hot headed, but he also knew when to be serious, and this seemed like a serious matter.

The blonde keeping pace beside Davis turned his head quizzically and asked, "You know Tai?"

"We play on the same soccer team." Davis boasted with pride. That was the second reason he took the matter so seriously. Tai was a bit of a hero to him. Davis even adopted a pair of goggles atop his head because Tai had worn some in a game and did exceptionally well.

The corridors were all but empty now, the students had left for home or anywhere else but school. Even with the minimal students, the running group had caused quite a clamor.

Lying back on an infirmary bed, Tai heard squeaks and exchange of voices grow louder and louder until he saw 4 junior students barge into the infirmary. He recognized a worried looking brunette and waved his hand. "Hey Kari, I'm over here."

"Tai!" She quickly ran over to her brother. "Are you ok? What happened?" She asked, as she glanced him over. Tai's left leg was wrapped in white bandages and his face had a few already healing scratches.

Tai raised his hand and scratched the back of his head. TK and Kari inwardly winced. _Oh boy… _They knew Tai, and when he scratched the back of his head like that with a sheepish look on his face, they knew it would be something silly. He tried to avoid that question by pointing towards Yolei, "Uh well… actually, who are you?"

"Me?" Yolei asked, pointing to herself for a second before regaining composure. "Oh, right. Hi. My name's Yolei, I… uhh… stumbled onto your email and found Kari. You know what? I should actually go fix that. Nice to meet you!" Yolei scrambled out of there. "Bye!"

"Stop changing the subject." Kari commanded. "What happened?" Her tone softened. Tai's hand returned to scratch his head, and his eyes moved to avoid anyone else's gaze, but he began to speak.

"Well, it started with Sora and her skirt and I'd been running the track…" It didn't take long for Tai to entrance the group. "And then she said with this strained tone, Tai…'THAT'S NOT MY BAG'" Laughter broke out as Tai finished the tale and finally stopped scratching his head.

"It seems like you're not that badly hurt then." A relieved Kari wiped away a tear.

"Of course not kiddo." Tai tussled his sister's hair, much to her annoyance. She pushed his hand away and tried to straighten her hair. Tai smirked. "I'll be fine. I just have to stay here until the nurses here finish writing up the report. Davis, do you think you could stay with me for a while?"

_This'll be a good chance to score some points._ "Sure, Tai!" Davis agreed.

"Great, and TK, can you walk Kari home?" Tai continued.

"WHAT?!" Davis exclaimed, tears streaming down his face.

The friends in green and pink walked in silence for a few minutes. Both felt a little awkward. Kari had insisted she didn't need anyone to walk her home, Tai insisted she did, and Davis just kept exclaiming out in disbelief. Eventually the clamor had attracted the nurses, and they had forced TK and Kari out. "One visitor at a time." Seeing there was nothing to be done about it, they just decided to walk home. When they reached the gate of the school, TK asked "Which way?"

"That's ok TK, I'll be fine." Kari Kamiya was perhaps as stubborn as her brother.

"I know you will, but I just want to catch up." His words slipped past her defenses.

Kari began to lead towards her place. "I hope Tai's going to be alright." She had honesty been lost in thought about her brothers' well being for the first few minutes, but she realized she had forgotten about the boy she was trying to get a hold of all day.

TK's posture grew more relaxed. "Oh, don't worry about him. With that hard head of his, I'm surprised it wasn't the tree that was hurt. Do you remember the cat disaster 5 years ago?" TK's skill had always been to be able to find a way to lighten the mood. It was a skill he picked up because Kari had always gotten down on this or that.

Kari stopped in her tracks. For the second time today, she laughed out quite loudly. She thought of Tai's expression when he got home with cat scratch marks all over him and walked straight past Kari and their parents and into his room. Kari had to hold her sides as her laughter subsided into giggles. TK chuckled alongside, reminiscing, not just about Tai, but Kari's laugh. It was music to his ears and a song he could listen to again and again and again. Kari felt her cheeks stiffen and sought to sooth them by rubbing them with her hands. They were rubbed in small circles, but didn't serve to relieve much tightness.

"Kari, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I… I just haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Oh." A look of sadness briefly washed on TK's face. Kari's smiles and laughs were treasures, and the thought that she wasn't happy worried hm. He brightened a smile for her and said, "Well, I'll just have to see what I can do about that."

She laughed again, returning his smile. "Don't." She pouted. "My cheeks hurt."

TK reached out and lightly pinched her cheek. "It's been a long time..."

She nodded. "You've gotten taller." Kari looked slightly up.

"I missed you, Kari." TK softly said.

"I missed you too, TK." Kari returned in the same volume.

The two turned their conversation towards their lives, television, music, and anything else under the sun. There was no end to the things they could talk about. Every so often, smiles and laughter would break out. When they were getting closer to the end of the walk, things started looking more familiar to TK. Kari had noticed TK had grown a little quieter and had been gazing around more often. He was starting to piece it together. _There! We used to play hide and seek in that park. _

"Do you remember this place?" Kari asked, gently nudging TK, whose face was a mixture of wonder and uncertainty.

"Some of it. We used to play there." He pointed towards a park with a half basketball court and jungle gym set. His mental image of the two as kids overlapped the real children playing. "Hopscotch. Racing. Hide and seek."

Kari nodded. "Mmhmm. And I would always win." She said matter-of-factly.

"Only because I let you." He couldn't resist the tease. "I could always find you."

"You didn't let me anything. I wanted you to find me." She said, breaking out and running ahead towards a swing set.

"Hey!" He shouted out as he chased.

Kari had made her way onto the swing. Grasping the support chains, she pushed off. Her legs tucking and extending at the correct moments brought her into an active swing. The old bolts and chains of the swing squeaked with each period. TK sat down on the swing next to her and copied her motions. They swung in compliment to one another. When one was going forward, the other was going back. They would speak to each other when they passed the center point.

"And I would always beat you at HORSE." Kari argued.

TK raised his eyebrow. "Actually, about that, you may be surprised to find how much I've improved my skills in that area."

Kari came to a stop and turned to face TK. "Is that a challenge, Takashi?" An upward curl on her mouth appeared.

TK was intrgued by the usage of his last name. Mirroring her movements, he stopped and turned to face Kari as well. "It won't be a challenge at all, Kamiya."

Kari didn't know why TK was so confident. The last time they had played, he could barely make a single shot. "How about we play a game tomorrow, loser pays for a dinner?" She extended her hand towards him.

Without skipping a beat, and with amusement in his voice, TK responded. "Deal." Shaking her hand and accepting the bet. "Let's get going. It's getting dark." He noticed the sky had begun to darken, and the lights in the park had already lit up. He looked at his watch and was surprised to see it was already 6. What should have been a 35 minute walk had now stretched past an hour and a half. Kari looked at the darkening sky and nodded. The park was right by the Kamiya residence, and so the final leg of the trip was short. TK insisted on walking her all the way to her door, just to be re-familiarize him with the area.

"Good night TK. Thanks for walking me home." She bowed.

"Not a problem Kari. I'll see you tomorrow." He bowed and began walking away.

"Wait!" Kari ran up to TK and stood beside him. TK looked oddly at Kari as she gave a smile. Suddenly, a flash of light disoriented him. "Arg." TK groaned. Bright light in his face was not something he liked. Kari's head was looking down at the softly lit screen. She stifled a giggle, with her hand covering her mouth. "What? Let me see." TK moved to get a better look. Kari obliged and turned the camera so he could see. Kari was smiling, not just with her lips, but even with her closed eyes, and the rest of her body which exuded happiness. TK was mesmerized until Kari's giggle caused him to look at the other figure in the photo. The TK in the photo had turned towards Kari and one of his eyes was half closed from the flash. He could see the faint trace of the face he knew he made when he was annoyed. TK couldn't help but laugh too.


	6. Chapter 6: Dark Days

Ken Ichijouji was entranced by the brunette beauty before him, and his usual professional demeanor wavered when he caught sight of her hazelnut eyes. Recomposing quickly, a formal bow came from the oddly dressed executive. There was no hiding the wariness in Kari's eyes, but she returned the gesture.

A gentle smile formed on Ken's face. "Let me apologize." He began. "I was working on this extreme trend from Sweden." He placed the whip on the large mahogany table. It was soon followed by goggles, cape, and cuffs. "Rebellious angry children there seem to like dressing in this manner to personify their dissent." He donned a plain gray suit sitting next to him and instantly looked much warmer and welcoming, not to mention professional. "Please, have a seat Ms. Kamiya."

"Thank you, but please, call me Kari." Straightening out her business skirt, she sat down and was welcomed into a very comfortable chair. Ken inwardly smiled. Making people comfortable physically was one of his tactics to put his clients at ease mentally.

"I've got to tell you Kari, when I saw that photo, it reminded me greatly of a time that troubled me and my family." He paused slightly. He noted the pained look in her eyes and knew she had seen something there as well. "But, it also gave me strength. I understand and acknowledge those dark parts of my life, and I have to move forward. And that's what Q is all about, moving forward, the next big thing."

"This photo is one of these rare captures of change and-"

"I-I'm sorry. I have to say I didn't take that photo of the ocean." Kari blurted out. She couldn't sit still knowing she was being praised for this kind of innovation she wasn't responsible for.

Ken was taken aback, not entirely because the girl didn't take the photo, but because she had interrupted him. No one in a very long time had done that. "So you're not the photographer?" He ventured.

"I am. I … I took all the photos except for the one of the ocean. I have no idea how that got there."

Ken inwardly chuckled to himself. _If nothing else, she's brave. _He glanced briefly at Catherine, who looked surprised. Ken sat back and closed his eyes, silence filling the room. A million thoughts crossed his mind, but none filtered out to his voice until he found the perfect solution. The amateur photographer suddenly felt small and foolish for agreeing to this meeting, her eyes drifted to the photo, amplifying her unease.

Finally Ken spoke. He certainly didn't like it when things didn't go according to plan, but as always, he would deal. "The circumstances' surrounding its creation doesn't matter. Think of it as a discovery. The intent is hardly what people remember. It's the results."

"You're still interested?" Kari and Catherine simultaneously asked, and Ken nodded in response.

"Have you heard of Control Spire?" He asked.

Control Spire the name sake of Q's art gallery exhibition halls. They were springing up at a rate that rivaled the spread of the world's leading fast food chains. Critics lauded the brand as "managing to stay fresh, relevant, and unique at each location". "Of course." Kari answered.

His hand reached out expectantly, and Catherine immediately filled it. Ken put down a flyer and slid it slowly across the smooth tabletop. "Well I'd like to have a show at the Tokyo Bay location, featuring you and your works. July 16th. 6 pm." Kari was mesmerized. There was her name, next to the words "Featured Artist" and logos depicting Control Spire and Q International, and some of her pictures blending and weaving seamlessly in the background. Deep in thought, she was interrupted by Ken. "So, will you help us?" He gently spoke.

"Yes. That would be just amazing." The shocked girl said.

"Great!" said Ken, rising and giving Kari a bow. "Catherine will set up the details." Promptly, Catherine had fetched and offered her card to Kari. Ken was already heading out the door, but he stopped and turned. "And Kari, it was truly an honor to meet you. I sense you'll have a great future with us." With that Ken had left. Kari was surprised to say the least.

The meeting with Ken had taken less than 10 minutes, and yet her life was already turning its latest page. _I guess Q takes its motto seriously. _She thought. She looked down at the card she had accepted from Catherine. _Elegant and refined, just like Catherine. Just like Ken._ When Kari's daydreaming stopped she noticed someone had been speaking. "…and you'll meet us one week from today. Understand?"

"Uhh, I'm sorry, could you repeat that."

"No problem. I said, you'll have to pick out 30 of shots you want to feature. I can't guarantee we'll use them all, we do have standards to uphold, but we will guarantee at least 10 photos will be used. This is after all, meant as a showcase to you, the artist. You'll need to have these picked out for a meeting with Ken, one week from today. Understand?" Catherine repeated.

"Yes, I do. Thank you."

"Hey, don't be so nervous. I've known Ken a long time, and though he's demanding and a bit of a control freak, he's actually one of the kindest men I've ever met." Kari could hear the longing in Catherine's voice and slight disappointment as she continued. "And I noticed that he seems to really like you. The car will take you whenever you're ready. You'll be great. Be sure to go out and celebrate. You're about to be a star!"

Kari was very numb with the events of the day, spacing out on the ride home. Skyscrapers flashed across the window, cars passed, but she stared resolutely at nothing. Though she knew she should be happy with this opportunity that knocked, it all seemed meaningless. Her thoughts kept drifting back to a certain blond and their last interaction. Kari shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of such negativity. _I should be celebrating, like Catherine said. _Kari pulled out her phone and digits flew up onto the screen. The familiar ringing sound began to ground her back to reality.

"Hello?"

"Yolei, I've got great news, let's go celebrate!"

Catherine entered Ken's office. It was lit only by multiple screens. They were custom built and designed by Ken himself. There were feeds from all over the world. However, Ken was focused on one screen with a figure cloaked in darkness. Catherine wasn't intimate with the details of Ken's relationship with this figure, known only to her as Symon, but she knew enough to not interrupt.

"And what do you think of the Kamiya girl's prospects?" the gravelly voiced Symon asked.

"It's too early to tell. Give me some time." Ken's uncertain tone surprised all parties. He was a master at spotting talent and it was how he had grown Q so rapidly.

"Of course, you have yet to fail. I expect updates soon." Symon signed off.

Catherine walked up behind Ken and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Are you ok? You seemed rattled."

"There was just something about that girl…"

Catherine thought back to how she had interrupted Ken. "Maybe your comfort strategy backfired on you." She teased.

"Nonsense." Ken knew his was business impeccable. But he inwardly thought, _Maybe it's not the business aspect that has me doubting myself. _"When is our next meeting?" His voice perked up, excited for the first time in a long while.

"One week. It's set up as you requested." Catherine resumed her professional demeanor. She knew how to read his business or personal state. Unfortunately for her, it was almost all business.

A fist that rushed into the wall made a thump that reverberated around the empty apartment. It hurt a lot more than he expected it to, having seen it done in movies before, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt inside his heart. So he punched again and again. It was wrong. _What can I do now? What can I do? _Exhausted emotionally, he ignored the ringing phone and plopped face down into a cold bed.

The answering machine started recording. "Hey TK, its Matt. H…" But TK could hear nothing but the screaming inside his head.

The next morning came and while it was a new week for everyone else, it was a continuing nightmare for TK. He went through the motions, doing the normal things: school and work. But he couldn't process. Losing Kari had been heart wrenching. He had gotten no better on Wednesday. TK was sitting on a bench outside of class, mind blanked.

"Hey." A voice spoke. "Hey… TK?"

He gazed upwards. It was a girl in a gray t-shirt and moderately worn jeans, carrying a book with a bent arm around her chest.

"Ayris?" He honestly wasn't sure of her name.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Having not talked to anyone, TK felt this pseudo stranger would be the best chance he would have of unloading without any judgment. "I just lost… my girlfriend and I broke up." His voice cracked as he spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Ayris said with sympathy. She sat down beside TK and ran a hand along his back to comfort him, and he, ever so slightly, was comforted. During the school days, Ayris would make it a point to spend some time with TK to free his mind from negative thoughts.

TK's phone chirped. His heart rate quickened with hope that it was Kari. Unfortunately, it was a text message from Sora. She had been one of Matt's friends, and even dated her a few times. Sora was like an older sister to TK.

_I heard about what happened. Know I'm available if you need to talk. _The text read.

TK began typing out the basic story of what happened and felt a renewed pain in his heart and stopped. _Why did I think it would be her? Why did I Hope it was her?_


	7. Chapter 7: Childhood Blues

The afternoon sun's golden yellow dimmed as it sank under the horizon. Davis Motomiya brought his hand to his face, wincing as a jolt of pain surged through his face. He felt gritty warm sand on his face and smelled a faint metallic odor mixed with the ocean. He held his hand up to inspect it, and found sand mixed with blood coating it.

Looking up, he saw he had been left alone, his 2 previous companions already quite a way away, and it appeared they were running. Instead of struggling to his feet, he plopped back onto the sand and turned his gaze towards to setting sun. The orange grew darker as he laid there. The contrast between his purple hair and the golden sand faded with the light. Despite his appearance and condition, he couldn't help the small smile on his face.

_I kissed her._ He thought. The full weight of his actions had yet to hit him. All he could do was think that singular thought. _I kissed her._ _I kissed her. _It was perfect in Davis' mind. Her lips were soft and minty sweet. He felt strong as he had embraced her frame. He'd been waiting and wanting it for the longest time.

Right then and there, he made his resolve. The last few years were not and will not be a joke. _Davis Motomiya, you are going to win over Kari Kaimya, no matter what._ Davis got up from the sand, grains falling back to their home. Straightening out his blazer, the durian headed boy started walking home, with a renewed determination and sense of purpose. Not far into the walk, he pulled out his phone and looked intently at it for a moment. He gripped it tightly in his hand before proceeding to dial. The phone rang 3 times before someone answered. "Yes?" A calm voice answered.

"Ken. I'm going to need your help on something."

Davis walked up to a large and wealthy residential neighborhood, enjoying the silence of the early evening. His pace remained constant as he turned into one of the driveways. Large trees and gates obscured the residence from view but he was familiar enough with it to make his way through in the dim light. Davis didn't pause as he pressed a buzzer announcing his arrival; the gates simply peeled back to welcome him in. A knock was made on the door. It echoes through the large residence. Shuffling sounds became louder until the door opened. Ken opened the door, holding out a drink in his hand and offered it to Davis.

"Did you win?" Ken's eyebrows raised expressing his curiosity.

"I didn't lose." Davis replied, taking the drink. He stepped into the house and closed the door behind him.

The pair sat in a luxurious living space, with each friend occupying a sofa opposite a glass table. Davis regaled Ken with the occurrences of the afternoon; the friend sat back and quietly listened, absorbing the details and attempted to formulate the true version of events. Ken knew Davis tended to over exaggerate. Ken slowly finished his own drink of an aged bourbon and placed his glass on the table. There were a more than a couple of beer cans from his now even less reserved friend.

"Ire member the first time I saw her." Davis began.

It was the fourth year in Odaiba Elementary. Spring time was in the air, and kids were playing outside. Davis Motomiya was known for 2 things: being loud and his favorite color of blue. He was playing soccer with a bunch of other children on the schoolyard field. He saw his shot, shouted "Here I go!" and kicked. Unfortunately, his accuracy had yet to fully develop and he contacted slightly offset. Instead of heading towards the goal, it veered to the right, and hit the back of a girls head. He ran up to her to apologize. "I'm sorry about that, it was an accident."

The girl rubbed her head with both hands. She angrily responded, "That hurt you jerk." Then she ran away.

Davis just stood there. _Hey. I apologized. She was mean to me. That means she likes me right? _

"And after like 10 years, a kissed her." Davis paused. "Why do I feel s'bad?"

Ken seized on the opening left by the stumbling Davis. "So you do feel bad?"

"Wha? No. Maybe. I-I always liked er."

"But does she like you?"After hearing no reply, Ken prodded again. "Davis?"

Ken sighed at his passed out friend. _I swear, sometimes I have no idea how we managed to be friends. Chalk it up to that Motomiya persistency, I suppose. _Ken thought back to his first meeting with Davis.

It was a varsity soccer match between Odaiba and Tamachi. The score had been 1-0 in favor of Odaiba by half time, Davis having made the only goal. Then Ken showed up. Out of a dark SUV, the blue haired genius immediately got the attention of the players and the fans. His cool blue eyes locked onto his opponents, and slowly walked towards the field. The coach ran up to Ken, "Hey Ken, we're really glad you could join us today."

"Sorry coach, there was something important that I had to do first." Ken replied.

"Don't worry about it. We're just glad you found the time for us at all. Can I put you in the game now?"

"If that's what you want." Ken confidently stated.

The referee announces the substitution. "Now substituting number 7, Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji", and the fans went wild. Gasps from Odaiba's team and wild cheers for the audience came when Ken took the scoring to 4-1 in just a few minutes. He looked back to Davis and saw determination still strong in his eyes.

The two players met at the center of the field.

"You must be Ken. I'm Davis, nice to meet you." He also heard cheers of support from Davis' friends in the stands.

"Some nice friends you got there Davis." He could tell Davis took pride in his circle of friends, but Ken had a game to win. The whistle blew and Ken, like his namesake, took off like a rocket, blitzing past Davis and the rest of Odaiba's team effortless, scoring a goal and bringing the game to 2-1. Davis was persistent, staying on Ken's tail and causing him to execute some extra dodges. Ken had to constantly look back to stay ahead, but kept making goals. About to shoot another goal, Davis slid in for tackle, kicking the ball from Ken's reach. However, the whistle blew and the match was over. "Time's run out, and green Tamachi team lead by Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji wins 9-1." The announcer stated. While the Tamachi team celebrated, Davis ran over to Ken and offered his apologies.

"It's not a problem." Ken said. He offered his hand in friendship. "You're not bad. Until we meet again in battle."

Davis shook, and confidently said, "I'll win next time."

Over the years, they met on the soccer field a few more times, and while Davis never bested Ken, he closed the gap quite a bit purely with tenacity and his style of head on confrontation. Ken grew to respect Davis quite a bit, and the two struck up a friendship.

Ken turned off the lights in his residence and retreated to his study.


	8. Chapter 8: Lightning Paw

Finishing off a breakfast of milk and cereal, TK headed out the door, scanning for his mom. _Hmm, guess mom had to go. _Curiosity did get the best of him, and he stepped into his mother's study. TK didn't have to search long as he found his target a top the desk. He took a few papers into his hand, scanning bits and pieces here and there. A smile came across his face as he read: _Toilet Paper: The final Wipe. The greatest thing since two ply. _He reached in his bag and quickly scrawled out his own idea for the title: _That's One Small Wipe for Mankind…_

With that accomplishment, TK made his way to school, hoping to meet up with Yolei and Cody. The elevator came to his floor, and the trio was reunited for what would soon become their morning ritual.

"Good Morning, Yolei, Cody." TK said, stepping into the elevator.

"Good morning TK." The pair sounded off.

"How is Tai doing?" Yolei asked.

"He's great. For a guy who hurts himself often, he also has the benefit of healing very quickly."

"Thank goodness."

The trio made small talk as they made their trek towards school. Class schedules, vacation activities, and the latest tv shows were the subjects of conversation. Throughout the day, TK still found himself the subject of attention, and found it hard to get away during any free time. Today's attention for TK had trickled down to just a few girls instead of the whole class. He politely answered questions and tried not to be the nail that stood out, but that was difficult with his blond hair, which the girls just seemed to go crazy over.

Davis was plopped down on his chair, watching his new rival. His vibrant energetic personality was gone today, and he just looked on. He thought back to the previous day when Tai had hurt himself. He had volunteered to look over Tai, trying to win points with Kari only to be met with TK being asked to walk Kari home. After recovering from the shock, and the others had all left, Davis slumped down on a chair next to Tai's bed.

"So Tai…" Davis' curiosity got the better of him. He had to know. Even if he would look slightly jealous. "Who… why does Kari know… the new transfer student so well?" He refused to acknowledge TK's name.

"Oh, you mean TK?" Tai kept his eyes closed, but answered Davis.

"Yeah, him."

"Do you remember my friend Matt?"

Davis was confused. "Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"TK is his younger brother. When we hung out together, sometimes we'd have to take TK and Kari along with us. They were about the same age, and so they just kinda got along with each other."

"Mmhmm." Davis nodded to himself. _That makes sense. Wait. No it doesn't. _"Wait a minute, you said he was Matt's younger brother. Why is he a transfer student, Odaiba's only got the one school."

"Oh. Right. Well, umm… their parents are divorced. Matt lives with his dad. TK went with their mom. That's all I should say on that matter."

"Oh." Davis thought to his own family. _They may be annoying at times, especially my sister Jun, but I couldn't picture them not together._

"I kind of see him as my own little brother actually. Annoying, but family"

"Oh."

Davis winced. _Another boy who's already intimately familiar with not only Kari, but had her protective big brother's seal of approval? This does not look good for me. _Davis thought it best to change the subject before he seemed overly curious. "So did you see last week's match between Germany and France?"

Tai's interest definitely picked up with that subject. "Yeah! Sardelli's ball control really impressed me when he made the shot 20 minutes in." Davis let himself get wrapped up in the world of soccer and tried not to think about the chance he missed out on.

It wasn't like Davis to be so down, but any previous competition for Kari he'd been able to easily overshadow. This time, he wasn't sure he could do the same. He remembered her defending him and his name when they met yesterday. He never saw Kari so protective before. So he watched, trying to figure out what it was about the blonde transfer student that made Kari like him so much. As part of his observation plan, he had seen TK passing notes to Kari in class. It was the only time the other students weren't hounding him. Davis was also disappointed when he saw her write notes back. All he had ever gotten were smiles, nods, or head shakes. He resolved to keep watching.

An orange ball arced gracefully, hitting the backboard and sinking in the hoop. A blonde fully dressed in basketball jersey and shorts ran in from the side to recover the ball as it bounced under the rim. His momentum didn't stop when he recovered the ball. His arm extended and shot a successful lay up while in the key. Grinning, he spoke to his shocked friend.

"Still think that was luck?" TK Takashi asked.

"No." A defeated Kari responded a quarter court away. "I forfeit."

"Then it looks like dinner's on you." A cheerful TK said, balancing a spinning basketball on his finger.

"Now you're just showing off." Kari huffed. "Just like Davis." She started walking away.

TK stopped the ball and brought it to rest against his leg. He did not like being compared to Davis, purely based on the fact that Kari didn't seem to like him too much. But he supposed the comparison was on the merit of athletic skill, so he tried to see it positively.

"Kari!, Wait up!" A hurried TK cried, gathering his things, and catching up to the brown haired girl walking away from him. He closed the gap between them quite quickly as he had ran and she was walking. Concerned, he reached out for Kari's shoulder. Upon contact, she spun slightly and he saw sadness in her eyes. "Hey… what's wrong?"

Kari stopped. "I'm sorry TK. I… It's just been a long time, and I know we caught up a bunch yesterday, but I still feel like…" She took a breath and tried to recollect herself. "I just really missed you. Yesterday, I told you that you got taller, and I suppose that's natural, but you've changed. Not in a bad way. Just… your clothes, how good you are at basketball…"

She looked up and found TK staring down at his shoes for a moment. Looking up and catching her gaze, he confusedly asked, "Wait, what's wrong with my clothes?"

Kari busted out laughing. "Nothing's wrong." Her face had turned pensive, as if struggling to find words. "They're just, maybe a little out of style. And the color is kind of… loud." She playfully teased him, spirits lifted already. _How does he always do that? _She wondered about TK's effect of brightening her up yet again.

"Please, you're the one in bright pink!" TK retorted.

"Girls are supposed to wear pink."

"Not that bright."

"Says the glowing neon sign."

The pair argued slightly as they walked home, much like the day before.

"Hey TK?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get so good at basketball?"

"Ah. Well. There was a summer camp."

"A summer camp?"

"Yeah, it was about 2 years ago. It was actually for older boys than I was at the time, but my mom pulled some strings."

"Why would she do that?"

"Well, partially I think it was work. She had a big book ghostwriting project she was trying to get. She got it by the way. It kind of put her on the radar a bit, and was actually what let us move back here." He paused, turned to Kari and smiled. "Best thing to happen to us in a long time."

"That's great TK!"

"Yeah. But the drills and training were intense. Being younger, I quickly learned I couldn't compete on the strength front, so I focused on the speed aspect. I'd gotten so quick and they didn't see me coming since I was… shorter. That's how I got the name Lightning Paw." TK batted the air, as if swiping a basketball. "But yeah, that's pretty much how I picked it up."

Kari let out a giggle. "Lightning Paw? That sounds more like a girl nickname."

"A girl's nickname huh?" He swiped at Kari's face, making her flinch.

"So, what about this? This is new."

Upon opening her eyes, Kari found TK holding up her camera by the wriststrap.

"Hey! How!?" She cried, reaching for it.

He moved it out of her reach and gave her a look. "Lightning Paw." He said, while twirling it around, with much less grace and stability than the basketball he had been to perfectly balance.

"Be careful with that!" Her voice had gotten serious.

Responding to Kari's alarm, TK stopped the twirling and caught it securely in both of his hands. He looked down at the camera, then towards Kari's anxious face. "Here." He held it out to her. "Sorry."

Kari sighed in relief as she replaced the camera around her neck. She felt as weird without it as Tai would look without his trademark goggles.

"Sorry for freaking out a bit, but I spent almost a year saving up for this camera."

"Whoa, I'm sorry. I had no idea it was so expensive."

"That's alright. I should have told you…" She paused and stared at her friend, who was looking at her expectantly. "Umm... I took up photography as a bit of a hobby."

TK put a finger on his chin while his head tilted up. "Come to think of it, you have been wearing that camera around your neck all the time, and you even took a picture of us the other day."

Kari smiled. "Yeah, that one is my all time favorite." She rummaged through her backpack, pulled out a 4" by 6" photo, and handed it to her friend. "That copy is for you."

TK took the picture into his hands and laughed again at its sight. It marked an important event: A happy Kari and annoyed TK enjoying their reunion. "Thank you. I'll treasure this great work." He teased.

Kari responded with a light punch to his arm. "You better."

"So how did you get into the photography?" TK resumed his inquiry into his friend's new hobby.

"It was about 2 years ago as well, in the summertime. I suppose it'd have been when you were at that camp you mentioned. I was really…" Kari stopped. She didn't want to say lonely and that she was thinking of him. "Bored." She continued. "So, I went out on the terrace and looked at the stars. Not only that, but there were a few shooting stars as well. I later found out it was the Cryser meteor shower. They were beautiful, but also so very fleeting. I wanted to capture some of these fleeting moments, so I went back inside and found my parent's camera. I took a shot of the night sky to remember it. It came out quite blurry actually, but that's how it started."

TK listened to Kari's story, but as soon as she had mentioned the meteors, his mind thought back. TK had always had a fascination with the stars and space. At the time, he hadn't found his skill in basketball and was quite frustrated. But on nights, he'd be able to enjoy himself by gazing at the stars. One night in particular, he saw the shooting stars. Being in the countryside, the sky was clear, and the heavenly lights shone clearly. He couldn't explain it, but the sight made him feel calm and warm, even though it was normally quite chilly.

"TK?" Kari asked.

"Hmm?" TK snapped back to attention. "Oh. Right. Sorry. I was actually thinking. I saw that meteor shower 2 years ago too."

Kari's eyes lit up in surprise. "You did?" She asked.

"Yeah. They were quite inspirational weren't they?"

Kari nodded.

"You know the Cryser's come around every three years or so." TK shared. "What do you say when they come around again, we do a bit of stargazing?"

Kari smiled and enthusiastically agreed. "Absolutely!"

9 months later, TK was frantically cleaning his room. Cleaning at this time entailed grabbing clothes left on the floor and stuffing them into drawers, old homework crumpled into the trash, and giving various surfaces a quick wipe down. His reprieve came when the doorbell sang its melody through the halls. TK emerged from his room and walked into the living room.

"Hello Ms. Takashi. Thank you for letting me stay the night." Kari greeted and bowed. She was wearing a blue jacket over her normal pink shirt as well as a dark pink scarf and a white beret.

Nancy welcomed Kari in. "Please Kari, you know you're welcome anytime." Closing the door behind her, she turned to TK and said, "Now did you clean up your room for your guest?"

"Mom!" TK sighed. "Yes. I did." He turned slightly red.

"Good. Now you two have fun. Take care of Kari now TK." Nancy retreated to her study to work on her latest assignment.

"I will." He called. Turning to Kari, he put on a big smile and greeted her with a simple, "Hi."

"Hi TK."

"Right this way." He led her towards his room. "You can put your stuff anywhere."

Kari looked around his room, amazed by how clean it was. She did, however, also notice his white shirt he had on was quite dusty. "You clean up quick Lightning Paw."

He noticed her gaze and looked down at his shirt. "Busted." Embarrassed, but going with it, he batted the air with his hand. TK turned to his closet and found a classic green shirt to replace his dirty white one. Meanwhile, Kari had left her things on the floor and opened the door to the terrace outside his apartment. She found a little futon set up with a few thick blankets on it along with some chairs for their feet to rest on. Kari sat down and snuggled herself up in the blankets. She noticed the familiar scent of TK around her and felt at ease.

TK finished changing and found Kari ready to go. He stepped out onto the terrace and turned the lights off. He gave his eyes a second to adjust before moving again. He saw Kari's head turn up towards him.

"Coming in?" She asked.

He sat down and snuggled in beside her. "Of course."

The two felt warm and safe in each other's presence. They made small talk as the night darkened, and lights from apartment buildings went out, making the stars in the night sky clearer and brighter.

"How'd you get here tonight?" TK asked.

"By the skin of my teeth." Kari replied.

"What does that mean?" He worriedly asked.

"Well, Tai's been learning to drive."

"WHAT?!"

Kari laughed. "I know right! I'm surprised mom and dad let him keep going after he hit that garbage can and the other time where he got 3 flats in a week."

"So what happened tonight?"

"Well we didn't hit anything, thankfully. We just maybe ran a red. The upcoming light was yellow. Tai was a bit further away than he thought. My parents scolded him a bit, but I guess they realize he's gonna have to learn sometime. I'm just glad I'm here in one piece."

While she talked, TK brought up a bag of snacks. Kari squealed, her eyes focusing on one bag in particular.

"I love these!" She cried, opening the bag and began munching and crunching on the colorful shrimp based chips.

"I know." He enjoyed some as well.

"So speaking of reckless, how's it going with Davis?"

"He's really cooled off since we met. I think I'd call him a friend. But he really does remind me of Tai. What's the word? Crazy?"

"That might be too-"

"Yeah, that's too harsh. Maybe… Impulsive then." That seemed to hit the nail on the head.

"Don't remind me. Part of me wishes you could have scared him off for good."

"If anything, all I did was make him stick to you tighter."

"And he's not bad… he's just… Davis." They laughed together at that statement.

By 10 the sounds of the city grew to a murmur and the lights had reduced to a flicker. It was prime time to see the stars. Kari snapped some pictures of the streaks of light in the sky. TK just watched the stars in silence, interrupted only by the camera shuttering.

"Beautiful stars huh?

"Mmhmm."

Their eyes grew heavy as the night wore on. They closed them but kept talking to each other.

"I actually made a wish the last time around." Kari said.

"You did?"

Her head shook in affirmation. "And since its already come true, I can tell you. I was honestly, really missing you. And I wanted you back in my life. I wished for you to come back and you did." She smiled at him.

"I'm glad you made that wish. Maybe that's how I was able to come back." He could feel her smile and returned it.

Kari set the camera to take a few long exposure shots of the sky before re-securing her space in the warm cocoon. She glanced at TK, who had already fallen asleep. Letting her head rest on his shoulder, she gave a yawn before her eyes shut and joined TK in dreamland.

Unbeknownst to Kari, who had spent the bulk of her money on the actual camera, the stand was of subpar quality. Shortly into the night, the weight of the camera lost its battle gravity and swiveled to focus on the sleeping duo.

Kari started stirring to the sounds of the hustle and bustle picking up on the streets below them. Her eyelids were still heavy, but a few blinks roused them up. She turned her head and found TK sleeping peacefully behind her. She smiled at the resting blonde and shifted position, trying to get up. TK woke from the slight rustling and mumbled out a quiet "Don't go Kari." He reached out, trying to embrace his friend back into bed. His eyes hadn't opened yet, but puzzlement crossed his brow as he thought _Why is Kari's shoulder so soft? _TK's eyes jerked wide open and followed the path of his arm onto Kari's chest. Kari's eyes were equally wide was blushing as red as a ripe tomato. "TK!" She said, in a strained voice, roughly removing his hand and jumping out of bed. At this point, the pair froze in both position and words.

TK tried to break the silence. "Sorry, I w-"

But Kari walked away quickly, grabbing her camera and her backpack and breaking into a run away from the Takashi residence. She avoided eye contact as she turned away and didn't look back.

TK tried to chase after her, but stumbled into his blankets instead. By the time he got to the door, Kari was nowhere to be found. He looked down at his hands thinking _Boy, you guys sure like to get me in trouble._


End file.
